ISL: List of champions from each season

ISL, since its inception in 2014 has seen five winners who have claimed the title atleast once. ATK has been the most dominant side.

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Avignyan Mukhopadhyay
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ISL, since its inception in 2014 has seen five winners who have claimed the title atleast once. ATK has been the most dominant side with three titles on different occasions and Chennaiyin FC has won it twice.

While FC Goa and Hyderabad FC have been the other winners. Lets see the list of teams, who can claim to be champions of Indian football.

Atletico De Kolkata (2014)

ISL: Atletico De Kolkata | Sportz Point

Atletico De Kolkata as Champions of Indian Super League 2014 (Image- ESPN)

In the inaugural season, ATK, formerly known as Atlético de Kolkata, were crowned the ISL season 1 winner as they defeated Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the final, courtesy an injury-time goal by Indian midfielder Mohammed Rafique.

Under head coach Antonio Lopez Habas and marquee player Luis Garcia, ATK had finished third in the ISL table at the end of the league stages, four points behind table-toppers Chennaiyin FC.

Chennaiyin FC (2015)

ISL: Chennaiyin FC | Sportz Point

Chennaiyin FC as champions of Indian Super League 2015 (Image- ISL)

After suffering heartbreak in the 2014 ISL semi-finals, Chennaiyin FC defeated FC Goa 3-2 in a mouth-watering 2015 ISL final at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa.

Chennaiyin FC had claimed the title with the help from their talisman Stiven Mendoza, who won the 'Hero of the League' award as well as the ISL Golden Boot, having scored 13 goals that season.

Interestingly, during the early stage of 2015 ISL season, Chennaiyin were placed last in the league table. The 'Marina Machans' then won four consecutive games to qualify for the play-offs, finishing third in the point table.

Atletico De Kolkata (2016)

ISL: 2016 | Sportz Point

Atletico De Kolkata as champions of Indian Super League 2016 (Image- Khel Now)

In the 2016 edition of the Indian Super League, ATK secured the title for the second time after defeating Kerala Blasters in a nail-biting penalty shootout at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, Kerala.

With more than 80,000 fans in the stadium, Blasters took the lead in the 37th minute through Mohammed Rafi. However, just after seven minutes, Henrique Sereno equalised for ATK. With the score still at 1–1 after extra-time, the match eventually went into a penalty shootout.

ATK won the shoot-out 4–3 and became two-time champions courtesy some brilliant saves from their keeper Debjit Majumder.

Chennaiyin FC (2017-18)

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Chennaiyin FC as champions of ISL 2017-18 (Image- ISL)

This was the year when All India Football Federation handed ISL the top-tier tag from Asian Football Confederation (AFC), replacing I-League. ISL expanded with the inclusion of Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC, with a play-off slot to play for in the AFC Cup.

Under head coach John Gregory, Chennaiyin FC defeated Bengaluru FC 3-2 to claim their second ISL title at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

Earlier in the league stages, Bengaluru FC had accumulated 40 points from their 18 games to finish eight points clear of Chennaiyin, who had finished second in the points table. Goa and Pune City were the other two teams who qualified for the 2017-18 ISL play-offs.

Bengaluru FC (2018-19)

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Bengaluru FC as champions of ISL 18-19 (Image- Deccan Herald)

In the 2018-19 edition of the tournament, Sunil Chhetri-led Bengaluru FC were hot favourites to be crowned the ISL season 5 winner.

As it turned out, Bengaluru FC secured their maiden title by defeating FC Goa 1–0 in the final at Mumbai Football Arena. Bengaluru FC's Rahul Bheke scored the winner from a corner in the 117th minute.As in the earlier edition of the tournament, Bengaluru had topped the ISL league stages in 2018-19 season.

In the semi-finals, while Bengaluru defeated NorthEast United 4-2 in two legs, Goa thrashed Mumbai City 5-2.

Atletico De Kolkata (2019-20)

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Atletico De Kolkata as champions of ISL 19-20 (Image- AIFF)

Having experienced two disappointing seasons, ATK re-appointed Antonio Lopez Habas as their head coach for the 2019-20 ISL season.The decision turned out to be successful as ATK became the first club to win the ISL thrice after they defeated Chennaiyin FC 3-1 in the 2019-20 ISL final.

In the finals, ATK goal-keeper Arindam Bhattacharya showed his class to help the white and red brigade clinch the coveted title. For the champions, Roy Krishna and David Williams were the stand-out performers throughout the tournament.

Mumbai City FC (2020-21)

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Mumbai City FC as champions of ISL 20-21 (Image-ISL)

Ahead of the seventh edition of the Indian Super League, FC Goa's former head coach Sergio Lobera was handed the reins of Mumbai City FC to change the fortunes of the club. As it turned out, it was a masterstroke as Mumbai City FC won their maiden ISL title by defeating ATK Mohun Bagan 2-1 at the Fatorda Stadium.

The Islanders are only the second team, after Bengaluru FC in 2018-19, to finish on top of the league and win the final in the same season. Mumbai, thus, completed a rare double of winning the ISL title after clinching the League Winners Shield and securing a place in the 2022 AFC Champions League.

Hyderabad FC (2021-22)

ISL: Hyderabad FC 2021-22 | Sportz Point

Hyderabad FC as Champions of ISL 21-22 (Image- The Quint)

Hyderabad FC defeated Kerala Blasters FC 3-1 in the penalty shootout to clinch their maiden Indian Super League title at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa.

Under the tutelage of Manolo Márquez, Hyderabad had earlier finished second in the league phase with 38 points from 20 matches, five points behind table-toppers Jamshedpur FC. The Nizams later beat ATK Mohun Bagan 3-2 on aggregate in the ISL 2021-22 semi-finals to book their place in the final.

For Hyderabad FC, striker Bartholomew Ogbeche was the standout performer as he bagged the Golden Boot award by netting 18 goals in 20 matches.

ATK Mohun Bagan (2022-23)

ATK Mohun Bagan champions of isl 2022/23 | Sportz Point

Image- Sportz Point

ATK Mohun Bagan beat Bengaluru FC on penalties to win the Indian Super League 2022-23 after 2-2 draw in regular time at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa.

After a semi-final loss in years edition, a lot of expectations were mounting on ATKMB as they are a squad capable of being champions with top talents like Hugo Boumous, Pritam Kotal and Ashique Kuruniyan. But the addition of superstar forward Dimitri Petratos from Australia was key factor for the Mariners being crowned the Champions of ISL once again as he finished the season as the top scorer of the league with 12 goals.

Hyderabad Fc Chennaiyin Fc Mumbai City Fc Indian Super League Bengaluru Fc Atk Mohun Bagan